Sometime in the
1930's in Cleveland, a young woman named Mary Ann was walking along West
25th Street near the old Farmer's Market (now the West Side Market).
She never made it home. Mary Ann was brutally raped and murdered in a
dark alley near the market. Her murderer was never found.

After her untimely
death, neighbors reported "strange things" in the alley where she was
killed.

Witnesses claim seeing
the apparition of a woman dressed in black clothing, walking in the
alley. When approached by anyone, she would just stare and say
nothing.

The ghost soon came to
be known as "Black Mary Ann."

It is believed that
Black Mary Ann wanders the alley to search for her killer.

However, her ghost
does not just seek vengeance. Neighbors say that she also appears
when someone is in danger.

In the 1973 anthology, Ohio's Ghostly
Greats, David J. Gerrick writes of one instance where Black Mary
Ann's ghost appeared to protect a girl who had taken a short cut through
the alley on her way home from a school dance.

Unfortunately, as with
most ghost tales, the story of Black Mary Ann seems to be based more upon
legend than fact.

Certainly, the time period
involved--Cleveland's "Eliot Ness Era"--seems appropriate. Especially
on the West Side during this time, criminal activity was rampant. In
fact, Ness oversaw heightened law enforcement efforts in this area, and even
frequented the nearby Great Lakes Brewery Company.

Yet, research could not
substantiate any unsolved murder of a woman named Mary Ann.
Furthermore, there are two alleys near the Market, making it difficult to
pinpoint the exact location of Mary Ann's murder. To be safe,
photographs from both alleys are posted here.

Further persuading us that
this story is simply an urban legend is its similarity with another, more
famous Black Mary. That "Black Mary" was actually Mary Kelly, the last
victim of Jack the Ripper.